The New Cue #475 March 17: Bob Mould
"Whenever Jeff Buckley would sing around me, I just wanted to disappear."
Good morning,
You join us today for a punchy Life & Times interview with alt-rock warhorse and living legend Bob Mould. Over a career that began with Hüsker Dü back in 1979, Bob has never really taken time to admire the acclaim that his work’s provoked, as he’s always onto the next thing (with the next thing sometimes being the last sort of music people might expect from him), so it’s good to enjoy this moment looking back with him. With Hüsker Dü, he helped pioneer the hardcore punk sound, and in doing so became a leading inspiration for the wave of successful grunge bands that followed. In the 90s, he formed the more melodically-refined Sugar and turned critical kudos into commercial success – their debut Copper Blue, released on Creation in the UK, was a Top 10 hit.
His solo career is where he’s really spread his wings, though, his records pinballing from folk to electronic-pop to punk to crunching rock and back again. He returns to what might be described as a classic Bob Mould sound on his new album Here We Go Crazy. Released earlier this month, it’s an up’n’at’em ripper full of anthemic hooks and heavy riffing. It’s his 15th solo album but release day felt a little different this time round.
“I always forget how impressive it is when, at the end of release day, I sit there before I go to bed and I'm like, ‘I put a new album out today’,” he explained to Niall over Zoom last week. “All this crazy good stuff is happening. With this one, it was even more so in such a bittersweet way, because on release day I was in my old hometown of Berlin, Germany. Because of Covid, I didn't get to go back to Berlin, so I didn't get to say goodbye, so to go back years later, it was a pretty emotional day for me all around a heightened version of whatever release day normally is.”
Taking on our questionnaire is not the first time that Bob Mould has mulled over his Life & Times – he actually released a record titled Life And Times back in 2009. He didn’t need to roll over his answers too much. Bob was quick on the draw. Let’s get to it, but before we do remember that this edition is free. Sharing is caring but signing up to become a paid subscriber to The New Cue, which costs a pretty-much-nothing £5 a month, is also caring. It means we can keep doing this and if we keep doing this you can keep reading this. Everyone is getting their back rubbed here! You can become a hero here:
Enjoy the edition,
Ted and Niall
The Life & Times Of… Bob Mould
What was the first record you loved?
Rubber Soul. I was five when it came out.
And the last?
Probably the most recent album by The Armed, Perfect Saviors. I got turned on to the band on the Ultrapop album. I loved Ultrapop, and I loved [producer] Kurt Ballou's take on them but on the new record, the songwriting seemed deeper. Alan Moulder's approach to mixing the record was very different than the prior one and it opened up more of a vista, I could see more of what they were doing. I knew they were great but then when I could see all of the components in the right place, the way that things were arranged, I was like, 'Wow, they're better than I thought', and I thought they were great.
What's your earliest memory?
Probably being in the arms of my mother.
What's your daily domestic routine?
If I don't have an immediate task in the morning, I will normally get up, take my morning pills, have a couple cups of coffee. I will sit with the New York Times game app, and I will do Spelling Bee and I will do Wordle and I will do Letter Boxed, I will do Sudoku. I do all the games. If I'm up in Northern California, I will get out of the house and take a long walk. If I'm down in the desert, I will either do a long bike ride or get in the pool and swim. By then it's about noon or one o'clock and I should probably get some work done. That's my normal routine when I'm not really busy. When I'm busy, I pretty much get up, slam my coffee, and I get to work. The days I just described are days of luxury, not days of labour.
Who or what is the love of your life?
My husband!
What's your worst habit?
I'm a little bit of a skin digger, not cutting, but manipulating my skin in bad ways. I have nervous ticks like that that are that are awful.
When were you most creatively satisfied?
I was completely wrecked and exhausted after recording Copper Blue and Beaster together. The stress put me down for almost a month. One thing that I've learned from that, and I had a little bit of it with this record, is when I finish a project and I'm completely, not at wit's end, but just so void of understanding what I just did, I've learned that that's probably a sign that I that I got it right. Sometimes I walk away and I think, 'Right, that's so great!' and it's like, no, actually, it wasn't that great. I think I've learned when I'm really lost after doing something that's usually because it was the right thing.
What's your desert island disc?
Oh Jesus, maybe Singles Going Steady. That's cheating though, right, because that's like all the singles. Or the first Ramones… or Loveless. Can I have three?
Has anyone you've ever met made you feel starstruck?
I remember trying to meet the Ramones and they weren't having any of it. I'm often in awe of some of my colleagues. I've had the good fortune to spend a little bit of time with Richard Thompson, and I'm always terribly humbled and just embarrassed to be a guitar player when I'm around Richard. I used to be acquaintances with the late Jeff Buckley, and whenever Jeff would sing around me, I just wanted to disappear because I wouldn't even call myself a singer around someone of that ability.
Who or what is the greatest influence on your work?
When I was 17, I went to university and I read Naked Lunch by William Burroughs and that was a pretty profound moment. I was a big fan of Marshall McLuhan's writing, I guess that would be something else outside of music. I was very fortunate to get to meet a lot of the beat poets and learn from them. I saw the world different after Naked Lunch.
What's your pet peeve?
Lies pretending to be truth.
Would people be surprised to learn about you?
My life is terribly unglamorous. Many people have this impression that I have some kind of wild playboy life or something and I am one of the dullest people you would ever meet in real life. I get excited to go to the grocery store.
What are you scared of?
I don't know if I'm scared of anything anymore. I'm at that age where I've accepted my inevitable fate so I'm not scared of the end. I think fear of anything happening to my husband would probably be it and that's more of a protecting as opposed to being afraid.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
Certainly not 1981! I was born in 1960 so as a child I got to experience a little bit of what was the greatness of America, post-war America, that American dream. JFK's assassination changed everything. But especially right now, it would be nice to go back to visit a time and place where America was united in the face of fascism and America doing the right thing more or less for the Western world. Ask me today, we may never see that again and that's horrifying. It would be nice maybe to go back and, not so much for the sexism or the racism of it, but that notion of the American dream, of a post-war America that was together, that would be nice to see, or at least imagine.
What do you wish the 18-year-old you knew?
You're gonna make it past 30. I didn't think I was gonna live to be 30 at the rate that I was going.
What's the secret to a long life?
Water, sleep. Water above everything, sleep is next. Stay hydrated.
What book would you recommend we read?
A book that always works for me is A Confederacy Of Dunces. What a great book.
How do you spark creativity?
Live a life, keep your eyes open, take notes. It all shows up in front of us. I don't have to go looking for it. It shows up.
Do you mind getting older?
No. I say that with physical resignation. I still feel like a kid in my head, but some days my body doesn't feel that way, but it's all good.
What's the secret to a happy relationship?
Listening.
What's the best advice you've ever been given?
Shut up, listen!
What's your favourite film, and why?
You know what movie always pops into my head is Rain Man, I don't know why. Maybe in my head I feel like Rain Man, the idea of having this blessing and curse that's actually a gift that's actually magic and so childlike.
Can you cook? What's your signature dish?
I can cook. I'm a pretty good griller and grill mean steak, some good chicken, sausage, burgers. I can make good stews. Nothing too high cuisine, I can't make a souffle rise or anything like that but my husband and I, we cook all the time. It's quite fun.
Which living person do you most despise?
It's a tie right now between Trump and Musk. No-one's even close, it's like Putin is such a distant third.
Do you have a temper? How does it manifest?
I have a temper. I've learned to keep my temper in check as I get older but it manifests in impatience with others. That's how my temper shows. I'm not a throwing stuff guy. I'm not a fuck you kind of guy. I get very terse and impatient. If you see me like that, stay away. Stay clear!
On what occasion do you lie?
Whenever the truth is not necessary, yet it would injure someone.
What talent would you most like to have?
I wish I was better with finance. I'm not bad with it, but I wish I would have used my clairvoyance more in the stock market, I guess. I'm pretty good with numbers, but not with investing. I do okay, but not great.
What's the closest you've ever come to death?
Probably in high school. A friend of mine was driving his dad's LTD. He lost control of it and we went about 60 miles an hour around a turn, but we went straight in the air into a telephone pole. The front bumper wrapped around and touched itself as the car fell four feet to the ground, and I pried myself out of the dashboard. That was close.
What's your favourite restaurant?
I got to go to one of my favourite restaurants last night, Balan's No. 60 in Soho. I got second from the window. That was pretty magnificent for me.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Quitting drinking. I quit drinking when I was 25. One of the main reasons we're talking right now was quitting drinking when I was 25 because I went 12-plus years without missing a day of drinking. That was a big achievement. That kept me alive.